The arrival of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and his form since winning the orange cap in IPL 2026 for most runs scored (776 runs) has put Sanju Samson’s place as an India opener under constant pressure.
Samson, who was the architect of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 defense earlier this year, has been scoring runs in patches, but even one failure starts the debate about his place in the team. India next travel to New Zealand for a full-fledged tour, and Cheteshwar Pujara, a former India batter, thinks that only one batter between Samson and Sooryavanshi can be part of the playing XI in New Zealand.
Pujara chimes in on Samson vs. Sooryavanshi debate for the NZ tour
“Vaibhav playing every game seems a bit difficult in New Zealand because there you need more all-rounders, either a spin all-rounder or a seaming all-rounder. So, there you don’t need a lot of batters, especially in the top order,” said Pujara while talking to JioStar.
“Either Sanju Samson can open or Vaibhav. I don’t think both can be part of the playing XI in New Zealand conditions. So, Vaibhav will have to wait, but he will get opportunities. If the spot opens up for him based on conditions or players’ fitness, that’s fine. But both Sanju and Vaibhav cannot be in the playing XI in New Zealand,” he added.
Samson in T20Is since the World Cup 2026
Since the T20 World Cup 2026 final, where he scored 89, Samson has played 15 T20Is, scoring 336 runs with four fifties and a highest score of 82. Overall, Sanju has played 77 matches since his debut in 2015 and scored 1,735 runs at a strike rate of 160 with three centuries and 10 fifties.
Sooryavanshi, on the other hand, made his T20I debut in July 2026 earlier this year after a bumper IPL 2026 and has played eight matches so far. In the eight matches played, Sooryavanshi has scored 246 runs at an average of 30 and a strike rate of 186 with two fifties and a highest score of 81.